DOCSLIB.ORG

United Nations Political Missions – Report of the Secretary-General

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
United Nations Political Missions – Report of the Secretary-General UNITED NATIONS POLITICAL MISSIONS REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL UNITED NATIONS POLITICAL MISSIONS UNITED NATIONS POLITICAL MISSIONS: REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL Summary This report is submitted pursuant to resolution 67/123, whereby the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General “to submit a report on the overall policy matters pertaining to special political mis- sions, including their evolution, trends, as well as their role in the activities of the Organization relating to the maintenance of international peace and security and to make recommendations to increase their overall transparency and effectiveness”. Contents I. Introduction . 2 II. Historical evolution of special political missions . 3 III. The present role of special political missions in the peace and security activities of the Organization . 7 IV. Key policy issues and challenges . 16 V. Recommendations to improve transparency and effectiveness . 24 Annex . 26 1 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL I. INTRODUCTION 1. At the heart of conflict, more often than not, are political issues. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that political missions have been at the very centre of United Nations efforts to maintain international peace and security since the establishment of the Organization. From the deploy- ment of Count Folke Bernadotte to the Middle East in 1948 to the establishment of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia in 2013, political missions have, in different forms, played a vital role in conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding. 2. In partnership with other actors, those missions have accompanied Member States through his- toric times of change: from supporting the decolonization and independence processes in Africa and Asia to assisting Central America in ending its civil wars and building peace in the 1990s; from facilitating the Bonn Agreement on Afghanistan in 2001 to aiding Nepal in its transition to peace and democracy; from assisting Libyans in organizing their first elections in almost 50 years to helping Somalia open its most hopeful chapter in a generation. 3. In the 1990s, those missions became collectively known as special political missions. In the two decades that followed, special political missions have grown significantly in number, size and the complexity of the mandates they are asked to implement. While many of their core functions stem from the early days of the Organization, the range of tasks carried out by these missions today is unprecedented, and a reflection of the growing importance Member States attach to this instru- ment. 4. While special political missions vary widely in their functional roles and characteristics, they can be broadly defined as United Nations civilian missions that are deployed for a limited duration to support Member States in good offices, conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding. They have been grouped in three main categories, or clusters, namely, special envoys; sanctions panels and monitoring groups; and field-based missions. This distinction will be used for the pur- poses of this report (see section III for a more detailed discussion). 5. This is my first thematic report on special political missions to the General Assembly. As request- ed in resolution 67/123, this report provides information on overall policy matters pertaining to special political missions, including their evolution and trends, as well as their role in the activities of the Organization relating to the maintenance of international peace and security. It also con- tains recommendations to increase their overall transparency and effectiveness. 2 UNITED NATIONS POLITICAL MISSIONS II. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SPECIAL POLITICAL MISSIONS 6. Although the term “special political missions” emerged only in the 1990s, the history of United Nations civilian missions with political functions goes back much further. Political missions have carried out good offices, conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding functions since the early days of the Organization, fulfilling the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and other world leaders often referred to those deploy- ments as “special missions” or “United Nations presences”. Those early experiences built a solid foundation for the special political missions we see today. Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, was instrumental in shaping political missions and their work. (UN Photo/JO) 7. The historical evolution of political missions has three distinct eras: a first period of new mission design (1948-early 1960s); a second period of relative inactivity (late 1960s-late 1980s); and a third period of rediscovery (post-cold war). This evolution was part of a broader trend of increased reliance by the United Nations on different mechanisms to promote and sustain peace and secu- rity. The evolution of peacekeeping followed a similar historical trajectory. 8. The period from the creation of the United Nations until the early 1960s was a fertile one for the design of a range of new missions. As a new institution, the United Nations was required to build and refine tools that could help to address emerging issues confronting the international com- munity, from mediating disputes in the Middle East and South Asia to supporting the transition to independence in post-colonial States. Political missions were one of the instruments that were developed during that period. 3 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL Security Council Meeting on Palestine Question in 1948. From left to right are Trygve Lie, UN Secretary-General, UN Palestine Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte and Security Council President Dmitry Z. Manuilsky. (UN Photo) 9. In 1948, the first United Nations mediator was appointed, when the General Assembly mandated a Mediator in Palestine (Count Folke Bernadotte) to work alongside the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.1 Since then, successive Secretaries-General have deployed the services of high-level mediators or other envoys, either upon the request of the General Assembly or the Security Council, or in the context of the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate. 10. In that period, the Organization also designed a number of field missions. They included small political offices that carried out facilitation tasks, such as the United Nations presence in Jordan, established by the General Assembly in 1958. Its purpose was described as “watching local de- velopments, holding a finger on the pulse and keeping Headquarters fully informed about devel- opments in that area”.2 Those early decades also saw the deployment of larger civilian presences to support political transitions, particularly in the context of decolonization and self-determina- tion. For example, in 1949, the General Assembly established a United Nations Commissioner in Libya, mandated to assist the Libyan people in the formulation of a constitution and the estab- lishment of an independent government.3 11. From the late 1960s until the end of the cold war, the Organization curtailed its design of new political missions. To a large extent, this was a result of the cold war divisions that hindered de- cision-making in the Security Council as well as the General Assembly. The number of missions mandated by the two bodies decreased during this period. While successive Secretaries-General continued to rely on special envoys and good offices missions, larger field-based civilian missions were rarely deployed. 1 General Assembly resolution 186 (S-2) of 14 May 1948. 2 Ralph Bunche, statement to the 11th General Assembly of the International Press Institute, Tokyo, 25 March 1960. 3 General Assembly resolution 289 (IV) of 21 November 1949. 4 UNITED NATIONS POLITICAL MISSIONS 12. One of the relatively few missions created in this period was that of the Special Representative to the Middle East, with a distinctly regional mandate that heralded the role of the present regional offices. The Special Representative was appointed in 1967 to maintain contacts with Member States in the region in order to achieve a peaceful settlement. He set up an office with political and military advisers, and engaged in shuttle diplomacy in subsequent years to the capitals of the region and beyond. The office operated until 1973. 13. The end of the cold war created new possibilities for the international community to maintain, collectively, its common security. At the same time, the post-cold war world saw the emergence of a number of new threats, including new civil wars in many regions. Post-cold war political tran- sitions created increased demands for United Nations support, particularly in areas such as elec- toral assistance, constitution-making and the rule of law. From Central America to Africa, new missions were established to help Member States to meet those demands. The concepts behind the missions were not radically new, but rather a rediscovery of some of the models deployed by the Organization in earlier years. 14. Harking back to the smaller political offices established in the 1950s, the Organization relied on several similar missions in this period. This included the Special Mission to Afghanistan, de- ployed by the Secretary-General in 1993 at the request of the General Assembly, and mandated to canvass a broad spectrum of Afghan leaders and solicit their views on how the United Nations could best support national reconciliation and reconstruction. Also in 1993, a United Nations Office in Burundi was established
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Imagining Peace Operations 2030
    GCSP 25th Anniversary The New Normal? Imagining Peace Operations 2030 25 November 2020, GCSP, Online Speakers’ Biographies Mr Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah President, Centre for Strategies and Security in Sahel Sahara; Former UN Special Representative of the Secretary General to Burundi and Somalia; Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mauritania; and Member of the Panel of Experts on Peacebuilding University Studies Economy and Political Science in Grenoble and Paris. 1969 / 1984: Minister of Commerce and Transportatio Amb;assador to the United States; to the Benelux States and the European Union in Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. 1985 / 1996: United Nations as Director at Headquarters, New York and Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG) in conflict affected Burundi 1993 / 95. 1996 / 2002, World Bank as the manager of the Think Tank Global Coalition for Africa chaired by Robert Mc Namara in Washington DC. 2002 / 2011 back to the United Nations as the Special Representative of the Secretary General to West Africa and later to Somalia. Then to the Headquarters for Special missions. In 2015 and 2019 member of the UN Secretary General Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of Peace Building Architecture and leader of the Secretary General Team to review the UN Office for the Central Africa Region (UNOCA). Founding member of Transparency International and is member of its Consultative Council. He also is member of a number of Advisory Boards of profits and non-profits organizations. He has published two books on his UN experience on conflict management: la Diplomatie Pyromane in 1996, Calmann Levy France; "Burundi on the Brink in 2000, US Institute of Peace and recently his Mémoires: ‘’Plutôt mourir que faillir " Ed Descartes et Cie, Paris 2017 translated in Arabic 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations TABLE of CONTENTS Foreword / Messages the Police Division in Action
    United Nations United Department of Peacekeeping Operations of Peacekeeping Department 12th Edition • January 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword / Messages The Police Division in Action 01 Foreword 22 Looking back on 2013 03 From the Desk of the Police Adviser From many, one – the basics of international 27 police peacekeeping Main Focus: Une pour tous : les fondamentaux de la 28 police internationale de maintien Vision and Strategy de la paix (en Français) “Police Week” brings the Small arms, big threat: SALW in a 06 30 UN’s top cops to New York UN Police context 08 A new vision for the UN Police UNPOL on Patrol Charting a Strategic Direction 10 for Police Peacekeeping UNMIL: Bringing modern forensics 34 technology to Liberia Global Effort Specific UNOCI: Peacekeeper’s Diary – 36 inspired by a teacher Afghan female police officer 14 literacy rates improve through MINUSTAH: Les pompiers de Jacmel mobile phone programme 39 formés pour sauver des vies sur la route (en Français) 2013 Female Peacekeeper of the 16 Year awarded to Codou Camara UNMISS: Police fingerprint experts 40 graduate in Juba Connect Online with the 18 International Network of UNAMID: Volunteers Work Toward Peace in 42 Female Police Peacekeepers IDP Camps Facts, figures & infographics 19 Top Ten Contributors of Female UN Police Officers 24 Actual/Authorized/Female Deployment of UN Police in Peacekeeping Missions 31 Top Ten Contributors of UN Police 45 FPU Deployment 46 UN Police Contributing Countries (PCCs) 49 UN Police Snap Shot A WORD FROM UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL, DPKO FOREWORD The changing nature of conflict means that our peacekeepers are increasingly confronting new, often unconventional threats.
    [Show full text]
  • SHERLOC Newsletter Organized, As “New” Groups And/Or Networks Focusses on the Topic of Cybercrime and Operating Online Have Been Formed
    N E W S L E T T E R I S S U E N O . 1 6 | N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 The SHERLOC Team is pleased to share with you Issue No. 16 of our newsletter regarding our recent efforts to facilitate the dissemination of information regarding the implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto, and the international legal framework against terrorism. #0211w In this issue Today, we stand close to the many thousands victims of FEATURED CASE: terrorism and their families all around the world, including ELYSIUM PLATFORM those of the recent Vienna attacks, our host country and home to many of us within the team. We stand by those many victims "struggling in their solitude with the scars of trauma and injury" as "their human rights and dignity have been violated with indiscriminate violence. Only the UNTOC COP10 acknowledgment of their suffering can start their healing; only information-sharing can overcome their isolation; only specialized rehabilitation and redress can help them rebuild their lives" (Laura Dolci, victim of the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq of 2003). RECENT ACTIVITIES Today, our prayers and thoughts go to all the victims and survivors of terrorism around the world. We reaffirm our strong commitment to facilitate information-sharing as a means to build knowledge and expertise to counter crime, in MEET A CONTRIBUTOR all its forms and manifestations, including terrorism. The SHERLOC team N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 I S S U E N O .
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciling the Protection of Civilians and Host-State Support in UN Peacekeeping
    MAY 2020 With or Against the State? Reconciling the Protection of Civilians and Host-State Support in UN Peacekeeping PATRYK I. LABUDA Cover Photo: Elements of the UN ABOUT THE AUTHOR Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s PATRYK I. LABUDA is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the (MONUSCO) Force Intervention Brigade Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Non-resident and the Congolese armed forces Fellow at the International Peace Institute. The author’s undertake a joint operation near research is supported by the Swiss National Science Kamango, in eastern Democratic Foundation. Republic of the Congo, March 20, 2014. UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper represent those of the author The author wishes to thank all the UN officials, member- and not necessarily those of the state representatives, and civil society representatives International Peace Institute. IPI welcomes consideration of a wide interviewed for this report. He thanks MONUSCO in parti - range of perspectives in the pursuit of cular for organizing a workshop in Goma, which allowed a well-informed debate on critical him to gather insights from a range of stakeholders.. policies and issues in international Special thanks to Oanh-Mai Chung, Koffi Wogomebou, Lili affairs. Birnbaum, Chris Johnson, Sigurður Á. Sigurbjörnsson, Paul Egunsola, and Martin Muigai for their essential support in IPI Publications organizing the author’s visits to the Central African Adam Lupel, Vice President Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Albert Trithart, Editor South Sudan. The author is indebted to Namie Di Razza for Meredith Harris, Editorial Intern her wise counsel and feedback on various drafts through - out this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Full Complaint
    Case 1:18-cv-01612-CKK Document 11 Filed 11/17/18 Page 1 of 602 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ESTATE OF ROBERT P. HARTWICK, § HALEY RUSSELL, HANNAH § HARTWICK, LINDA K. HARTWICK, § ROBERT A. HARTWICK, SHARON § SCHINETHA STALLWORTH, § ANDREW JOHN LENZ, ARAGORN § THOR WOLD, CATHERINE S. WOLD, § CORY ROBERT HOWARD, DALE M. § HINKLEY, MARK HOWARD BEYERS, § DENISE BEYERS, EARL ANTHONY § MCCRACKEN, JASON THOMAS § WOODLIFF, JIMMY OWEKA OCHAN, § JOHN WILLIAM FUHRMAN, JOSHUA § CRUTCHER, LARRY CRUTCHER, § JOSHUA MITCHELL ROUNTREE, § LEIGH ROUNTREE, KADE L. § PLAINTIFFS’ HINKHOUSE, RICHARD HINKHOUSE, § SECOND AMENDED SUSAN HINKHOUSE, BRANDON § COMPLAINT HINKHOUSE, CHAD HINKHOUSE, § LISA HILL BAZAN, LATHAN HILL, § LAURENCE HILL, CATHLEEN HOLY, § Case No.: 1:18-cv-01612-CKK EDWARD PULIDO, KAREN PULIDO, § K.P., A MINOR CHILD, MANUEL § Hon. Colleen Kollar-Kotelly PULIDO, ANGELITA PULIDO § RIVERA, MANUEL “MANNIE” § PULIDO, YADIRA HOLMES, § MATTHEW WALKER GOWIN, § AMANDA LYNN GOWIN, SHAUN D. § GARRY, S.D., A MINOR CHILD, SUSAN § GARRY, ROBERT GARRY, PATRICK § GARRY, MEGHAN GARRY, BRIDGET § GARRY, GILBERT MATTHEW § BOYNTON, SOFIA T. BOYNTON, § BRIAN MICHAEL YORK, JESSE D. § CORTRIGHT, JOSEPH CORTRIGHT, § DIANA HOTALING, HANNA § CORTRIGHT, MICHAELA § CORTRIGHT, LEONDRAE DEMORRIS § RICE, ESTATE OF NICHOLAS § WILLIAM BAART BLOEM, ALCIDES § ALEXANDER BLOEM, DEBRA LEIGH § BLOEM, ALCIDES NICHOLAS § BLOEM, JR., VICTORIA LETHA § Case 1:18-cv-01612-CKK Document 11 Filed 11/17/18 Page 2 of 602 BLOEM, FLORENCE ELIZABETH § BLOEM, CATHERINE GRACE § BLOEM, SARA ANTONIA BLOEM, § RACHEL GABRIELA BLOEM, S.R.B., A § MINOR CHILD, CHRISTINA JEWEL § CHARLSON, JULIANA JOY SMITH, § RANDALL JOSEPH BENNETT, II, § STACEY DARRELL RICE, BRENT § JASON WALKER, LELAND WALKER, § SUSAN WALKER, BENJAMIN § WALKER, KYLE WALKER, GARY § WHITE, VANESSA WHITE, ROYETTA § WHITE, A.W., A MINOR CHILD, § CHRISTOPHER F.
    [Show full text]
  • General Assembly Distr.: General 14 December 2017
    United Nations A/72/649 General Assembly Distr.: General 14 December 2017 Original: English Seventy-second session Agenda item 149 Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations Updated financial position of closed peacekeeping missions as at 30 June 2017 Report of the Secretary-General Summary The present report provides information on the financial position of 29 closed peacekeeping missions as at 30 June 2017. Of those missions, five had net cash deficits in the total amount of $86.0 million (in comparison with $86.1 million as at 30 June 2016) as a result of outstanding payments of assessed contributions from Member States. The remaining 24 closed peacekeeping missions had net cash surpluses available for credit to Member States totalling $85.3 million (in comparison with $67.7 million as at 30 June 2016). 17-22541 (E) 281217 *1722541* A/72/649 Abbreviations MINUGUA United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala MINURCA United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic MINURCAT United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad MINURSO United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara MIPONUH United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti MONUA United Nations Observer Mission in Angola MONUSCO United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ONUB United Nations Operation in Burundi ONUCA United Nations Observer Group in Central America ONUMOZ United Nations Operation in Mozambique ONUSAL United Nations Observer
    [Show full text]
  • Inquiry Into Recognition of Service with the Commonwealth Monitoring Force – Rhodesia 1979-80
    INQUIRY INTO RECOGNITION OF SERVICE WITH THE COMMONWEALTH MONITORING FORCE – RHODESIA 1979-80 LETTER OF TRANSMISSION Inquiry into Recognition of Service with the Commonwealth Monitoring Force – Rhodesia 1979-80 Senator the Hon David Feeney Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Parliamentary Secretary, I am pleased to present the report of the Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal on the Inquiry into Recognition of Service with the Commonwealth Monitoring Force – Rhodesia 1979-80. The inquiry was conducted in accordance with the Terms of Reference. The panel of the Tribunal that conducted the inquiry arrived unanimously at the findings and recommendations set out in its report. Yours sincerely Professor Dennis Pearce AO Chair 8 November 2010 2 CONTENTS LETTER OF TRANSMISSION.............................................................................................2 CONTENTS..............................................................................................................................3 TERMS OF REFERENCE .....................................................................................................4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .....................................................................................................5 RECOMMENDATION...........................................................................................................6 REPORT OF THE TRIBUNAL.............................................................................................7 Conduct of the Inquiry....................................................................................................7
    [Show full text]
  • 9 Interpol and the Emergence of Global Policing
    Stalcup, Meg. 2013. “Interpol and the Emergence of Global Policing.” In Policing and Contemporary Governance: The Anthropology of Police in Practice. ed. William Garriott, 231- 261. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. This extract is taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive version of this piece may be found in Policing and Contemporary Governance edited by William Garriott, which can be purchased from http://www.palgrave.com. 9 Interpol and the Emergence of Global Policing Meg Stalcup Introduction “The New Interpol is not simply a collection of databases and communication networks,” said Secretary General Ronald K. Noble to national representatives at Interpol’s 2002 annual assembly.1 “You have heard me use the expression—the Interpol police family. It is an expression that we wish to turn into reality” (Noble 2002). The organization, dedicated to police cooperation, had previously taken four to six months to transmit even high-profile requests for arrest between member nations. Notices were sent as photocopies, mailed by the cheapest and lowest priority postage available (ibid.).2 Modernization and reorganization, however, had just cut the time for priority notices to a single day. The Secretary General’s call for “police family” named the organization’s ambition to create fellowship through these exchanges. Interpol is not a police force. Neither national nor international laws are enforced by Interpol directly, nor do staff and seconded police officers working under its name make a state’s claim to the right of physical coercion (vide Weber), or to powers of investigation and arrest.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law by the Allied Democratic Forces Armed
    UNITED NATIONS JOINT HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE OHCHR-MONUSCO Report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group and by members of the defense and security forces in Beni territory, North Kivu province and Irumu and Mambasa territories, Ituri province, between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2020 July 2020 Table of contents Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 I. Methodology and challenges encountered ............................................................................................ 7 II. Overview of the armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) ................................................. 8 III. Context of the attacks in Beni territory ................................................................................................. 8 A. Evolution of the attacks from January 2015 to December 2018 .................................................. 8 B. Context of the attacks from 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2020 ............................................ 9 IV. Modus operandi............................................................................................................................................. 11 V. Human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law . 11 A. By ADF combattants ..................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • United Nations Nations Unies Office for the Coordination Of
    United Nations Nations Unies Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs As delivered Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos Opening remarks at event marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Canal Hotel Bombing Rio de Janeiro, 19 August 2013 It is a great privilege to be here in Brazil with you on the tenth anniversary of the bomb attack that took the lives of 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello. The attack on the Canal Hotel is still shocking, horrifying to us ten years on, because it was deliberate and targeted against Sergio and his colleagues who were in Iraq to help people in need. It violated every principle of humanity and solidarity, the principles on which the UN is founded. Today we not only remember Sergio and his colleagues, but also so many friends and of course colleagues who survived the attack. We commemorate Sergio’s life and work in Brazil and on the international stage through the marking of World Humanitarian Day, when we remember all the humanitarian aid workers who have given their lives in order to help people in need. Sergio’s name resonates in the UN building in New York and everywhere he worked around the world: the charismatic leader, the fearless humanitarian. His ideals, commitment and energy remain an inspiration to us all. Ladies and gentlemen, The attack on Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the other people who died at the Canal Hotel that day, was a senseless waste of human life and by forcing the UN to reduce its work in Iraq, it was an indirect attack on some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Protection of Children in Peacemaking and Peacekeeping Processes
    The Protection of Children in Peacemaking and Peacekeeping Processes Ilene Cohn* I. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION Despite increased international attention to and awareness of children's rights, children are largely overlooked in the peacemaking and peacekeeping process. Rules of engagement for peacekeepers disregard children, and re- construction and reconciliation programs that emerge from negotiations ignore the differential impact on and particular needs of children. The effect is to marginalize persistent problems like the rehabilitation and reintegra- tion of child soldiers and, more broadly, to miss the opportunity to address widespread systemic problems common to war-torn societies. Children suffer disproportionately in war, and they benefit disproportion- ately less in peace. The international community has recognized the deficiency of the international bill of rights in addressing specific classes of injustice or the status of entire groups of persons, and it has acknowledged the need for programmatic tools to address the special needs of vulnerable communities. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which I refer throughout as a guidepost for children-oriented initiatives, is the most widely ratified human rights treaty and obliges States to take positive measures to ensure the protection of children's rights both in peace and in war.1 A similar approach is both warranted and reasonable in peace proc- * Program Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, United Nations. Visiting Fellow, Harvard Law School Human Rights Program (1997- 1999). I would like to express special thanks to Peter Rosenblum for his encouragement, advice and edito- rial wisdom, and to the Harvard Human Rights Program for offering me an environment so conducive to research and writing.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf | 231.42 Kb
    United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) UNAMI FOCUS Voice of the Mission News Bulletin on UNAMI Activities Issue No. 18 December 2007 SRSG Staffan de Mistura in Baghdad that Iraq will spend $900 million on capital 12 Nov 2007 projects across Baghdad. The conference In his first town-hall meeting address to was hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister, UNAMI staff, Special Representative of the Barham Saleh, the two Vice Presidents, Secretary General for Iraq Staffan de Adel Abd-al-Mahdi and Tareq Al-Hashimi, Mistura, reiterated his commitment to fulfill Baghdad’s Mayor, Saber Al-Essawi, UNAMI’s mandate as stated in UNSCR Baghdad’s Governor, Ali Muyassar, and the 1770. He emphasized that special attention commander of the Baghdad Security Plan, will be given to national reconciliation and Abboud Qunbur. national dialogue as stated in the resolution, SRSG Staffan de Mistura Paying Tribute to which clearly calls for a larger UN role in the victims of the Canal Hotel Bombing the country. He expressed the hope that this expansion will lead to tangible results, and UNAMI Focus Interview with the that no effort will be spared by the Mission SRSG, Mr. Staffan de Mistura towards achieving its stated goals. UNAMI Focus: Can you provide the Mr. de Mistura said that his immediate UNAMI Focus readers with a synopsis of priorities are to quickly assume his responsibilities and take initiative to ensure your priorities, along with the things you Baghdad Rehabilitation Day that his activities and initiatives are felt in hope to achieve, in Iraq for the upcoming the country, as well as making certain that year? To launch the initiative, Deputy Prime his, are consistent with those priorities of Minister Barham Saleh extended an his Iraqi counterparts.
    [Show full text]